Two Texts, Two Communities, One Idea?
(9) You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.
Name some Biblical ethics that come from these verses. Do you agree? Disagree? Would you expand on them?
The Tension Between Tradition & Change
No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the LORD; none of their descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the congregation of the LORD,
Shall we once again violate Your commandments by intermarrying with these peoples who follow such abhorrent practices? Will You not rage against us till we are destroyed without remnant or survivor?
When the people heard [this] Teaching, they separated all the [mixed and alien people] from [among] Israel.
"I [Boaz] am also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife, so as to perpetuate the name of the [Mahlon] upon his estate, that the name of the deceased may not disappear from among his kinsmen and from the gate of his home town. You are witnesses today."
בֹ֖עַז הוֹלִ֥יד אֶת־עוֹבֵֽד׃ וְעֹבֵד֙ הוֹלִ֣יד אֶת־יִשָׁ֔י וְיִשַׁ֖י הוֹלִ֥יד אֶת־דָּוִֽד׃
Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot [King] David.
What does it mean that Ruth and Ezra-Nehemiah are included in the same Bible, despite radically different feelings on intermarriage? Is that an example of inclusion?
How We Think About Others & How To Treat Them
(ג) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אַל תְּהִי בָז לְכָל אָדָם, וְאַל תְּהִי מַפְלִיג לְכָל דָּבָר, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ אָדָם שֶׁאֵין לוֹ שָׁעָה וְאֵין לְךָ דָבָר שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מָקוֹם:
(3) [Ben Azzai] used to say: do not despise any man, and do not discriminate against anything, for there is no man that has not his hour, and there is no thing that has not its place.
(ח) כָּל אִישׁ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל חַיָּב בְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה בֵּין עָנִי בֵּין עָשִׁיר בֵּין שָׁלֵם בְּגוּפוֹ בֵּין בַּעַל יִסּוּרִין בֵּין בָּחוּר בֵּין שֶׁהָיָה זָקֵן גָּדוֹל שֶׁתָּשַׁשׁ כֹּחוֹ אֲפִלּוּ הָיָה עָנִי הַמִּתְפַּרְנֵס מִן הַצְּדָקָה וּמְחַזֵּר עַל הַפְּתָחִים וַאֲפִלּוּ בַּעַל אִשָּׁה וּבָנִים חַיָּב לִקְבֹּעַ לוֹ זְמַן לְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה בַּיּוֹם וּבַלַּיְלָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יהושע א ח) "וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה":
(ט) גְּדוֹלֵי חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ מֵהֶן חוֹטְבֵי עֵצִים וּמֵהֶן שׁוֹאֲבֵי מַיִם וּמֵהֶן סוּמִים וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן הָיוּ עוֹסְקִין בְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה בַּיּוֹם וּבַלַּיְלָה וְהֵם מִכְּלַל מַעְתִּיקֵי הַשְּׁמוּעָה אִישׁ מִפִּי אִישׁ מִפִּי משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ:
(8) Every man in Israel is obliged to study the Torah, whether he be poor or rich, whether he be physically healthy or ailing, whether he be in full vigor of youth or of great age and weakened vitality; even if he be dependent upon alms for his livelihood, or going around from door to door begging his daily bread, yea, even he who has a wife and children to support is obliged to have an appointed time for the study of the Torah, both during the day and at night, for it is said: "But thou shalt meditate therein day and night" (Joshua, 1.8.).9Yoma, 35a; Menahot, 99b. G. G.
(9) Some of the great scholars in Israel were hewers of wood, some of them drawers of water, and some of them blind: nevertheless they engaged themselves in the study of the Torah by day and by night. Moreover, they are included among those who translated the tradition as it was transmitted from mouth of man to mouth of man, even from the mouth of Moses our Master.
Pamela Rae Schuller, "My Tourette Syndrome and I Are Not Your Mitzvah Project," www.ReformJudaism.org
Sometimes I hear people talking about how much of a “mitzvah” they are doing by opening their doors to people with special needs in their community. Maybe they allowed a child with autism in their youth group or religious school, or hosted an “inclusion” service.
But here is the thing: It is not a mitzvah to let me in the door...If we are practicing full inclusion, our communities should be celebrating each person and what they bring to the community, not just what they demand of it (emphasis added).
What role do marginalized people have in learning Torah? And how have some reacted to that role?
A Right Way and a Not-Always-Right Way?
(א) מפנין אפלו ארבע וחמש קפות של תבן ושל תבואה, מפני האורחים ומפני בטול בית המדרש, אבל לא את האוצר.
(1) One may move even four or five baskets of straw or of grain [to make room] for guests, or to [avoid] neglect of the House of Study; but [one may] not [move] the entire storehouse.
Another great custom that was followed in Jerusalem was that when one made a feast, there would be a cloth [mappa] spread over the entrance to the hall. As long as the cloth was spread, the guests would enter, as the presence of the cloth indicated that there was food for more guests. When the cloth was removed, the guests would not enter any more.
(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי:
(14) [Rabbi Hillel also] used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?
Are there limits to inclusion? What are they? What are these texts offering as examples of limits or setting boundaries? What should organizations/congregations consider when balancing inclusion vs. boundary setting?
"Long after people forget how delicious the chicken was, they will remember how you made them feel." -Danny Meyer, Union Square Hospitality Group